Our celebration of National Catholic Schools Week continues today with a chance to honor our Grandparents. We thank them all for supporting our mission and for supporting their grandchildren (who are the future of our Church).
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Pope Francis has announced the establishment of an international day to honor grandparents and the elderly to take place each year in July. “The Holy Spirit … arouses thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly today: their voice is precious because it sings the praises of God and guards the roots of peoples. They remind us that old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between generations, to transmit to young people an experience of life and faith,” Pope Francis said on Jan. 31. “Grandparents are often forgotten and we forget this wealth of preserving and passing on the roots. For this reason, I have decided to establish the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly,” the pope said.
The World Day for the Grandparents and the Elderly will take place annually on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the feast of the grandparents of Jesus, Saints Joachim and Anne. This year it will take place on Sunday, July 25, and Pope Francis will offer a special Mass to mark the occasion.
A Prayer for Grandparents: “Lord Jesus, you were born of the Virgin Mary, the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne. Look with love on grandparents the world over. Protect them! They are a source of enrichment for families, for the Church, and for all of society. Support them! As they grow older, may they continue to be for their families strong pillars of Gospel faith, guardian of noble domestic ideals, and living treasuries of sound religious traditions. Make them teachers of wisdom and courage, that they may pass on, to future generations the fruits of their mature human and spiritual experience.
Lord Jesus, help families and society to value the presence and roles of grandparents. May they never be ignored or excluded, but always encounter respect and love. Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed in all the years of life which You give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living, keep grandparents constantly in your care, accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage, and by your prayers, grant that all families may one day be reunited in our heavenly home, where you await all humanity for the great embrace of life without end. Amen!”
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Today is the Feast of St. Blaise:
St. Blaise was a hard-working bishop and medical doctor who was dedicated to encouraging the spiritual and physical health of his people (in ancient Armenia). Although the Edict of Toleration, which granted freedom of worship in the Roman empire, was the law, religious persecution still raged in the country. In the year 316, St. Blaise was beheaded for not sacrificing to the pagan gods.
According to a legend, a mother came to St. Blaise one day with her young son, who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Bishop Blaise’s command, the child coughed up the bone and weas healed. Based in part on that event, February 3rd has traditionally been a day set aside for the blessing of throats.
Although more is known of the devotion to him than his actual life, St. Blaise is seen as one more example of the power those have who give themselves entirely to Jesus. We pray that we might follow his good example today and always.
